Whatcom County mobile market hosting fundraising drive for rural food access
A Whatcom County nonprofit organization that has been providing resources to food-insecure areas for more than a decade is calling for funding help from the community in the wake of federal funding cuts.
The Twin Sisters Mobile Market first opened in 2015 when about 60 local residents, including farmers and business owners, came up with the idea to have a moving farmers market that served the community.
“There is so much pressure on nonprofits, particularly in food access and food security … because of the federal funding landscape and the federal situation around food access benefits is causing a lot of uncertainty,” Twin Sisters Director of Special Projects Cat Sieh told The Herald in an interview.
While Twin Sisters generates a portion of its annual operating revenue from market sales, it also depends on outside grants. The organization is currently waiting to hear back on several thousand dollars worth of grant awards that have been delayed due to federal funding cuts, according to Sieh.
To raise money, Twin Sisters is hosting an online community fundraiser, with the goal to raise $75,000. The fundraiser began Oct. 18 and raised over $17,000 by 2 p.m. Donations had nearly reached $30,000 by Nov. 20. Sieh said they plan to run the campaign through the end of December.
“This capital campaign is critical for us,” Sieh told The Herald. “Reaching our fundraising goal means we can maintain operations, retain skilled staff, expand to more market locations, accept more benefit programs, and donate more surplus food to food bank partners. Without it, sustaining the level of service our community relies on would be very challenging.”
The mobile market accepts food benefit services such as EBT, SNAP Market Match, Senior Vouchers and Nooksack Fresh Vouchers. Sieh said they will likely be able to accept WIC starting 2026.
“That (WIC) is a really exciting one because in eastern Whatcom County we have a huge population of folks that are WIC eligible and we have no WIC retailers in the entire Mount Baker School District,” Sieh said in an interview. “That would be a major food access shift in the regions that we serve.”
Although Twin Sisters moves around the county, they mostly focus on four locations: The North Fork Library, Nooksack Tribal Health Clinic, the Deming Library and the Birchwood neighborhood — at 1703 Birchwood Ave. The market schedule can be found through the Twin Sisters Mobile Market website.
“TSM connects more than 20 small Whatcom County farms directly to the communities that need access to fresh, local food the most, keeping food dollars local and healthy food affordable,” said Sieh in a news release. “We also bridge the gap between farms and food banks — empowering families to shop for what they need, and donating unsold produce to local food banks to make sure nothing goes to waste.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
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